Report claims Microsoft may close Activision Blizzard purchase even with FTC lawsuit

Even as we wait for the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to make their final decision on Microsoft’s proposal to purchase Activision Blizzard, a new report says Microsoft may go ahead and close the huge $69 billion deal soon.

The New York Post reports, via unnamed sources, that Microsoft is feeling confident that the UK CMA will approve the deal. That decision is expected later today. Also, the company also believes the EU’s European Commission will give its blessings on the purchase. That decision is expected to be announced on or before May 22.

There’s still the US Federal Trade Commission, which filed a lawsuit against the deal in December 2022. However, if the UK and EU do approve the deal, the Post article says it will be hard for the FTC to challenge Microsoft’s acquisition in court. One unnamed source told the Post, “They are going to cram this down the FTC’s throats.”

The FTC could file for a temporary injunction to block the deal in a US court, but that may also be something of a lost cause, according to the unnamed source:

If Microsoft makes a deal with the Brits and the European Union it can say that antitrust concerns are resolved, and if you’re a judge that’s not a helpful fact for the FTC.

All of this means that Microsoft could be the new owner of Activision Blizzard before the end of June 2023 with the regulators’ approval.